Chapter 504: Self-Directed

At 7 PM, customers were gradually filling Mars Bar. The owner noticed a man crouching behind the bar, inspecting the bottles. He asked the bartender, “Who’s that?”

“A cop. Says he’s looking for clues. He’s been checking those bottles for an hour now.”

“Oh!” The owner suspiciously glanced at the man.

Chen Shi was examining fingerprints on all the Red Label bottles. He had obtained Zhang Jinlei’s fingerprint samples from Peng Sizhuo. The police had recorded the fingerprints of all involved parties six years ago when the crime occurred.

Using tape, Chen Shi lifted fingerprints from the bottles and compared them with the samples. He finally found a match.

Standing up, he asked the bartender, “Do you remember a customer who ordered a bottle of this on the night of the 7th and sat alone in the corner?”

“Uh, what did he look like?”

Chen Shi described him and showed the bartender Zhang Jinlei’s ID photo. The bartender nodded, “Yeah, I remember him. He sat there from 9 PM to midnight with just one bottle.”

“Did he finish it?”

“Yes, he did.”

Chen Shi purposely said, “Don’t lie to me. That customer had hepatitis B. If he didn’t finish it and another customer drank from it, it could be a problem.”

“I’m not lying. He really finished it. We don’t get many customers who order a whole bottle. I collected it myself that night.”

“Thanks. I’ll take this bottle with me.”

Chen Shi bagged the bottle and didn’t go home. Instead, he wandered around the area until 9 PM before heading back.

The police’s visits yielded results by the next afternoon. They gathered in the conference room to report their findings. One officer said, “A classmate of Yan Qilin described her as a kind girl who spoke softly and had a strong sense of self-respect. She would cry quietly when wronged. Her grades were good until senior year, possibly due to her relationship.”

Chen Shi asked, “Was that a male or female classmate?”

“Male. He was her deskmate for a year.”

Another officer reported, “I got a different story. A classmate said Yan Qilin was very manipulative, often tattling to teachers and acting innocent around boys. After dating Zhang Jinlei, she became very arrogant.”

“I bet that was a girl?”

“Yes.”

A third officer said, “Her homeroom teacher described her as obedient, diligent, and helpful to her classmates.”

Chen Shi dismissed this as a standard response from someone who didn’t know her well.

The information gathered painted a mixed picture: boys found Yan Qilin gentle and caring, while girls generally disliked her, calling her manipulative and fake. Some mentioned she was close with several boys, and others said she incited Yue Chao to deal with anyone who badmouthed her.

Hearing all this, Chen Shi formed a rough image of her. It was no surprise that both Zhang Jinlei and Yue Chao were drawn to her.

Old Zhang said, “A classmate mentioned that although Yan Qilin and Xiao Ran were best friends, Yan Qilin stole Xiao Ran’s boyfriend, leading to a period of cold war between them. Xiao Ran didn’t attend their reunion.”

Lin Dongxue said, “Zhang Jinlei wasn’t really Xiao Ran’s boyfriend, just a childhood friend.”

“But it’s said Xiao Ran and Zhang Jinlei used to go home together frequently. They stopped after he started dating Yan Qilin.”

Chen Shi calmly said, “Zhang Jinlei is a prime suspect.”

Everyone was taken aback. Chen Shi explained, “Last night, I went to the bar. The bartender said Zhang Jinlei ordered a bottle of Red Label on the 7th and sat alone, leaving at midnight. Surveillance showed him walking to the bar. A bottle of Red Label is 700 ml, about three cans of soda, with an alcohol content of 40%. I have a decent tolerance, but drinking that in three hours would leave me drunk. However, Zhang Jinlei walked out steadily. While it’s possible he has a high tolerance, he takes paroxetine daily, an antidepressant that, when combined with alcohol, raises blood pressure. He’d need an ambulance. I suspect he didn’t drink it but discreetly poured it out to create an alibi.”

Old Zhang asked, “But the timeline suggests he wasn’t there, right?”

“Correct, by the estimated time of death. But Peng and I conducted a salt penetration experiment and noticed something in the footage indicating the body was dumped at 8 PM. The time of death was manipulated to mislead us. The real time of death was earlier. This year’s case had a new variable: Cai Yating, who was secretly tracking the killer. Her autopsy showed she died at 10 PM, but I believe the time was also manipulated. She likely died between 8 and 9 PM.

“If Zhang Jinlei is the killer, he dumped the body at 8 PM, was tracked by Cai Yating, killed her, and dumped her body in the suburbs. I retraced his steps last night. He could have reached the bar by 9 PM. The footage shows him walking, but I found his silver Mercedes in a nearby mall’s underground lot. Surveillance there captured him parking it before heading to the bar and leaving in it after midnight. When pieced together, it forms a complete picture. Lin Dongxue…”

Lin Dongxue said, “Zhang Jinlei only officially owns a white BMW he shares with Xiao Ran. But his mother owns a silver Mercedes, which she doesn’t drive. It might be in Zhang Jinlei’s possession.”

Chen Shi nodded. “Good work. Given his profession, he doesn’t go out much. Sharing one car with Xiao Ran should suffice, and he has only one parking spot. Why keep another car? This silver Mercedes is for the murders. We missed it because it was well-hidden, and he was Yan Qilin’s boyfriend, our blind spot.”

Everyone was shocked into silence. Finally, Old Zhang spoke, “So Zhang Jinlei orchestrated everything. Killing Yan Qilin might have been out of love turned to hate. Though he evaded police back then, why take the risk of repeating the crime every year?”

“That’s a question only he can answer when we bring him in.”

“Bring him in?”

Chen Shi smiled. “Let’s get the paperwork ready, everyone. We’re bringing in Zhang Jinlei and Xiao Ran for questioning!”